Wonder Boys baseball swept at OBUARKADELPHIA — Kris Ayers went 4-for-4 in the opener with a pair of RBIs, but the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys baseball team (4-7, 0-3 Great American Conference) was unable to overcome timely hitting by Ouachita Baptist (6-4, 3-0) in a doubleheader sweep by the Tigers, falling 10-8 and 4-1 on Saturday at Rab Rodgers Field. The Tigers did the lion’s share of work in the first two innings, putting eight runs across in the first two innings and sendi...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Balogun earns weekly GAC honorArkansas Tech University’s Mike Balogun was named Great American Conference men’s basketball co-player of the week by the league office in Russellville on Monday, Feb. 16. Balogun, a senior guard from Staten Island, N.Y., averaged 19.5 points per game while leading the Wonder Boys to a pair of victories last week. He matched his season high with 25 points in an 83-63 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State University on Thursday. Two days later, ...

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Lady Little Johns set record in 107-99 winDANVILLE — It looks like the score from an NBA shootout — but it’s not. The Danville Lady Little Johns netted a record-breaking 107-99 double-overtime win over the Guy-Perkins Lady Thunderbirds. The win broke the school record for most points scored in a game. According to the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA), the score placed third in the state for most points scored in a single contest. The combined score of 206 placed second. Additiona...

Suns top Crimson Storm, stay atop GACArkansas Tech University's Golden Suns celebrated Valentines Day with a commanding 78-60 win over the Southern Nazarene University Crimson Storm on Saturday inside Tucker Coliseum. The win, alongside Harding's 67-59 loss to Southeastern Oklahoma, put ATU back on top the the Great American Conference — not that head coach David Wilbers is concerned much about standings. "It is what it is," he said. "We don't really look at it that much. We just...

Pottsville stuns Dardanelle in OT after huge comebackDARDANELLE – The Pottsville Apaches overcame a 15-point second-half deficit Friday night to defeat the Dardanelle Sand Lizards 50-47 in a heated contest. After falling behind 44-29 with 1:45 left in the third quarter, the Apaches roared back with an 18-3 run to send the game to overtime. Peyton Lasher was able to give the Apaches the lead for good with a free throw with 15.9 seconds left in overtime after Dardanelle’s Chris Kershner missed two...

Lady Apaches cruise by Lady Sand LizardsDARDANELLE — The Pottsville Lady Apaches used a 10-0 run late in the first half to take control of Friday’s game with Dardanelle and glide to a 53-24 victory. After the Lady Sand Lizards pulled within 23-14 on a 3-pointer by Brianna Scott with 3:40 left in the second quarter, Pottsville ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 33-14 lead at the half. The Lady Apaches scored 10 unanswered in the opening three minutes of the game. Ashley Brannon h...

Cyclones overcome PanthersSILOAM SPRINGS — The last time the Russellville Cyclones played the Panthers, RHS suffered a heartbreaking 49-48 loss. Andy Campbell, who had missed several games prior, made his return against Siloam Springs but missed a game-winning shot on the buzzer. It wasn't going to come down to one shot this time — but it was closer than Russellville would have liked. The Cyclones (11-12, 5-5 7A/6A-Central Conference) put Siloam Springs away and clinch...

Wonder Boys rise over Northwestern OklahomaUsing a huge effort from Mike Balogun, who scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, the Arkansas Tech men’s basketball team quickly pulled away after halftime to complete the season sweep over Northwestern Oklahoma with an 83-63 victory Thursday night at Tucker Coliseum. Balogun matched his season high with the 25 points, which came on 10-of-16 shooting and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, while D.J. Jethroe added seven points, 11 r...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Portis' growth, consistency leading No. 24 ArkansasFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Bobby Portis looked around during the first half of a blowout win over Mississippi State last week, smiling and waving his arms in encouragement. Arguably Arkansas' most beloved star since the school's national championship days was once again holding court, much to the delight of the crowd in Bud Walton Arena. The No. 24 Razorbacks (19-5, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) have won six of their last seven games, surging to...

Whirlwinds lose heartbreakerThe Benton Panthers hit a layup with 4.5 seconds left in Thursday night's game to take a 33-31 lead over the Russellville Whirlwinds inside Whirlwind Gymnasium. Russellville fed the ball to midcourt before taking a time out, but was unable to hit its shot attempt after inbounding the ball. The Whirlwinds trailed throughout three quarters of action but tied the game at 27 with 1:59 left in the game, after Ryan Talley drove through several defen...

Lady Whirlwinds fall to BentonThe Russellville Lady Whirlwinds nipped the heels of the Benton Junior Lady Panthers all night on Thursday, but fell 38-30 inside Whirlwind Gymnasium. “I thought our effort and intensity was good the entire game. They shot the ball really well and took advantage of any mistakes we made,” RJHS Lady Whirlwinds head coach Veronica Black said. Zipporah McCallister hit a 3-pointer with 2:23 left in the game to pull within 36-30, but a stretch of co...

Lady Warriors win 3A-4The Lamar Lady Warriors clinched the 3A-4 Conference with a 56-31 win over the Danville Lady Little Johns. Lamar (18-2) was led in scoring by Kylee Thomas with 10 points and Sarah Shaw with nine. The Lady Warriors will close their regular season on Friday at home as they celebrate Senior Night against Mayflower. The Lady Warriors will begin the 3A-4 District tournament on Thursday in Paris. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Junior Lizards advanceSUBIACO — The Dardanelle Junior Sand Lizards advanced to the semifinals of the 4A-4 District Tournament after defeating the Subiaco Junior Trojans 44-35. Dardanelle had lost to Subiaco twice previously during the regular season. “In the previous two match-ups, we haven’t shot the ball particularly well,” Junior Sand Lizards head coach Jared White said. “We shot it much better tonight and executed offensively much more efficiently. I was very p...

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Courier Sports StaffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Hector JH sweeps first round at districtHAVANA — The Hector Junior Lady Wildcats defeated the Bigelow Junior Lady Panthers 32-22 in the first round of the 2A-4 East District Tournament held inside Wolverine Gymnasium on Wednesday. Hector led 7-5 after the first quarter and 12-8 at halftime. After the third quarter, the Junior Lady Wildcats were up 21-15. Hector was led in scoring by Paige Lee with 11 points, Baylee Riley with 10 points and Whitney Bell with five points. Dana Martin ...

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Courier Sports StaffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RJHS sweeps Bryanthe Russellville Junior High Whirlwinds clinched a spot in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference tournament with a 48-37 win over the Bryant Junior Hornets on Monday inside Whirlwind Gymnasium. Russellville led 18-6 after the first quarter and 29-19 at halftime. After the third quarter, the score was 43-27. “We shot the ball well throughout the game,” Whirlwinds head coach Matt Howerton said. “We also shot it well from the free-throw line...

Lady Cyclones place second, Cyclones third at home meetCLARKSVILLE — The Russellville Cyclones and Lady Cyclones swim teams hosted the Cyclone Invitational Swim and Dive meet on Saturday at the Clarksville Aquatic Center. Five teams participated in the meet with about 65 swimmers and divers in competition. The Lady Cyclones placed second on their side of the meet with a combined score of 235. The meet was won by Conway who totaled 504 points, followed by Russellville, Little Rock Central with 137 ...

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RHS cheer places fourth in national competitionORLANDO, Fla — A wave of excitement and doubt passed over the Russellville Cyclones cheerleaders as the winners of the Universal Cheerleading Association National High School Cheer Competition were announced in Orlando, Fla, on Sunday. “We thought, ‘maybe we will be in the top 20,'” Cyclones head cheer coach Shirley Carr said. “Then they got to 15 and they still hadn’t called our name. Then we got to the top 10 and still nothing.” Russellville...